Crimson-collared Grosbeaks - Rio Grande Valley, Texas

In Texas on 21 November, two female-type, ABA Code-4, Crimson-collared Grosbeaks (Rhodothraupis celaeno) were photographed at the Frontera Audubon Sanctuary by a volunteer.

This northeastern Mexican endemic and range restricted species occurs from sea level to 3800 feet from central Nuevo León south to northern Veracruz states.  In its range, Crimson-collared Grosbeak is found in second growth woodlands and in semiarid brushy woodlands and edge (Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Howell and Webb).  Most reports from the ABA Area are of single birds and all but one has been reported from late fall and winter months. In the winter of 2004−2005, 9 birds were reported in South Texas, four of them from Weslaco (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.).